Trust over Fear!

Today’s Verse: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe” (Proverbs 29:25, NIV).

Today’s Word: Fear is one of the enemy’s favorite tools to keep us from going forward in our lives. As soon as we make a decision to step out in faith and do what God is telling us to do, immediately the enemy will bring fear. He’ll put thoughts in your mind like, “What if I fail? What will others think? Maybe I don’t have what it takes.” He’ll do his best to use fear to try to convince you to shrink back and just stay right where you are.The Bible tells us that fear is a spirit. It affects your emotions. But when you choose to put your trust in the Lord, no matter how you are feeling, you are combating fear.Today, I encourage you, don’t allow fear to trap you and hold you back. Instead, take a step of faith knowing that God is on your side. He is for you and with you, leading and guiding you in the path of victory all the days of your life!

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, I choose to put my trust in You. I choose to press forward and overcome fear. I believe You have my best interest at heart and know that You are leading me in the paths of righteousness all the days of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

~Love Barbara~

Cooking 101

Celebrate the Season Every Day...

While getting your kids to eat healthier! Today cookie cutters and shaped bakeware are available for just about every season and holiday. Fall is bountiful for both—from pumpkin and leaf molds to a host of spooky cookie cutters. With a little imagination and a few of these tools, you can create festive and healthy snacks for lunchboxes or tailgate parties. Use mini metal cookie cutters on slices of cheese, cold cuts or fresh fruits and vegetables; choose produce like bell peppers that naturally have large, flat surfaces or slice veggies on the diagonal for more cutting space. Quickly and easily home-bake fun-shaped pita or tortilla chips; just cut pitas/tortillas, season and bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes or until crisp. Pair these tasty bites with blood red salsa, a low-fat sour cream based dip or flavorful hummus garnished with roasted red pepper “worms.” Full size cookie cutters can be used to make sandwiches more fun. Select large open shapes like pumpkins, tombstones or skulls, avoiding cutters with intricate details or patterns. Add a special touch to a typical breakfast, dinner or potluck contribution by baking muffins or biscuits in themed cupcake pans. Make your favorite pumpkin muffin in a pumpkin or Jack-o’-lantern mold. Bake skull-shaped cornbread (ratchet up the design by adding sliced olives for eyes and corn kernels for teeth) to accompany a pot of vegetable-rich chili, stew or goulash. For a sweet finish, create dessert kabobs that pair chocolate brownies (or blondies) with fresh fruit and marshmallows. Drizzle with a little icing chocolate for a hint of decadence.

~Love Barbara~

Color Challenge!

How About a Color Challenge?
Do you need a little challenge? Do you like color challenges? Well, I think they are quite fun, and my latest color challenge article posted yesterday! Here is the challenge:

You can find the article and design samples here. And a huge thank you goes out to Laura and Linda of Layers of Color and to Elizabeth Carney of Triple the Sketch! These girls have amazing talent, and I am thankful for their help with this article. I hope you will play along, and post a link to your creations in the comment section. I would love to see what you come up with! Enjoy!~Love Barbara~

Sketch Thursday 2009 -

This is the sketch from thursday Sept17th, I post the layout later....
~Love Barbara~

Sketch Thursday 2009 -

Good morning I'll post Layout later.....

~Love Barbara~

Butterfly antennas key to navigating in migration.
Millions of Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico for the winter and scientists have long speculated on how the insects find their way. Turns out, their antennas are the key.
How do we know? Well, researchers painted butterfly antennas black, and the insects got lost.
Managing to fly south may not sound like a big deal to people armed with maps and GPS receivers, but all butterflies have for navigation is the sun in the sky.
And the sun keeps moving, so the little creatures have to constantly adjust to stay on course throughout the day.

Like most animals, Monarchs have a so-called circadian clock in their brain that helps them know what time it is. Knowing the time and the position of the sun allows them to orient to the south.
But Monarch butterflies have a second clock based in their antennas, which also sense light, according to the new study led by Dr. Steven M. Reppert, chairman of neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
"Whatever we learn about the insect ... is going to tell us a little bit more about how our brain works," said Reppert, who studies the internal clocks in the brains of animals, including people.
Plus, he added in a telephone interview, "it's fascinating biology that's begging to be understood."
Researchers had thought the navigation took place in the brain of the butterfly, but this experiment shows that the brain and antenna each has a circadian clock and they work together, he said.
The researchers, whose study appears in Friday's edition of the journal Science, did the test by holding the butterfly wings gently and dipping their antennas in enamel paint.
The ones with black paint were unable to orient to the south, they found, while butterflies whose antennas were coated with clear paint had no trouble navigating.
That not only showed the antennas were sensing light for navigating, it also showed that the sense of smell isn't involved in finding the way, since both paints blocked that ability.
And, since the animals with black paint got lost even though their eyes were able to see light, the researchers concluded the antennas were vital to finding the way.
Butterflies whose antennas were surgically removed also became disoriented.

~Love Barbara~

Acordian Cards

According card - Halloween

Jesus rocks - This was made for my Sister in Christ for the Transform your mind in 2009 women retreat this weekend .. in Virginia beach!


Wedding book, according syyle - Might be a give away at the wedding!

~Love Barbara~

Three arrested after fight at Knightdale High

Posted: Today at 11:58 a.m. Updated: 1 minute ago
Knightdale, N.C. — Three students were arrested after several fights broke out Wednesday morning at Knightdale High School, according to police.
Lyndon Earl Ore, 16, and Prentise Ja’vaughn Wilkins, 17, were each charged with simple affray and disorderly conduct after police said they started fighting at the school just after 10:30 a.m.
Police said Darren Strawder, 18, was trying to jump into the fight and took a swing at a resource officer who was trying to detain him. He is charged with one count of assault on a government official.
The three remained at the Wake County jail Wednesday afternoon.
About 40 officers descended on the school after a fight broke out in the cafeteria. More than 1,900 students were in the room when the fight started. Officers said several other fights broke out.
Knightdale police contacted other agencies for help. At one point, a Wake County Sheriff's sergeant said up to 40 students were involved in the fights.
School staff cut the lunch period short because of the fights. Some parents picked up their students up early from school because of the incident.
Wake County Public School System spokesman Greg Thomas said classes resumed by noon.~Love Barbara~

By Way of Remembrance

Today’s Verse: “I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle (tent, body), to stir you up by way of remembrance” (II Peter 1:13, AMP).

Today’s Word:Do you know that when we dwell on the wrong things, it affects our moods? We get down, discouraged, and lose our hope.

Some people today don’t have the joy and the enthusiasm God wants them to have because they are constantly dwelling on negative things.But if we want to be in the position to take hold of all that God has in store for us, we have to stir ourselves up by changing our thinking. Instead of dwelling on and remembering all the bad things that have happened in life, you have to remember all the good things God has done for you. Every time you give God praise, every time you sing a song of victory, you are acknowledging and remembering His goodness. You are causing your mind to focus on what He’s done for you. And, I’m convinced one reason the scripture tells us to bless the Lord at all times is because you can’t praise and complain at the same time!I encourage you today, stay proactive. Don’t become passive in your thought life. Don’t let your guard down. Keep stirring yourself up by remembering His faithfulness and watch what He will do on your behalf!

Prayer for Today: Father in heaven, today I choose to keep my mind focused on Your goodness. Thank You for Your grace, mercy, and loving-kindness. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus so that I can live in victory. I bless and praise You today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

~Love Barbara~

Autumn is in the air....

One of My Autumn Cards!

~Love Barbara~

Cards Sketch - Autumn in the Air

Faith sister .. Card challenge is back....I will be posting my card real soon.. Have a blessed day!....

~Love Barbara~

Heart Disease

Have you checked your heart out lately? Is your heart beating for the people that you love?
Luke 7:45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good”

Heart disease, is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States . The most common form of heart disease is coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease (CAD). Each year, approximately 500,000 Americans die from CAD-related heart attacks.

We all have been hurt some time or another. Things seem to come out of nowhere and touch us right in/on our heart. It could be your husband who hurt you, your wife, your children, your family, co-workers, or even your fellow church brother or sister. When this occurs, remember not to harbor on the fact that you were hurt, but rather on the fact that even though you were hurt, you are going to be healed. When we allow things to stay in our heart, it causes all kinds of pain to our mind, body and soul. There are natural things that occur as a result of the heart not working properly.

Look below:
Coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common form of heart disease, is caused by the arteries becoming clogged when it should just be a pathway for oxygen and nutrients. The arteries are there so that fresh air (oxygen) can pass through. When your artery is disturbed or clogged, this can cause a stroke naturally. Spiritually, your heart (love) can get clogged with bitterness if that fresh flow of air (holy spirit) can’t get through.
Congestive heart failure results when the heart muscle becomes weakened and can no longer pump blood efficiently. Have you been hurt so badly that every time someone tries to show love to you, you reject them because of your past experiences? Get healed today. Don’t let the past dictate your future!
Cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart muscle loses its ability to pump blood. How many of us can identify with this one? The moment we get hurt, the world stops and we feel that we can’t go on. We lose the fight in us.
No matter how bad the situation or the circumstance, you can be healed. When the heart becomes too damaged to pump properly, it’s time to get a heart transplant. A time to replace the feeling that was temporary, with something that is permanent; TRUE LOVE. Love is unconditional and should not have any boundaries. Don’t let anything stop or prevent you from loving. God is love. If you don’t have love you don’t have God.
Your day has officially been started!!
Have a great LOVE day!!
Minister Williams
Don’t forget you are the one who makes your day great. You can do all things through Christ Jesus.

~Love Barbara~

Weekends in Winston!♥ SCARLET LACE ♥
Labor Day weekend....2009

~Love Barbara~

Weekends in Winston!♥ SCARLET LACE ♥
~Love Barbara~

Stay blessed Acts 16:25-26

Someone brightened my day so I just wanted to pass it on...Stay Blessed....
Acts 16:25-26

But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the [other] prisoners were listening to them,
26Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the very foundations of the prison were shaken; and at once all the doors were opened and everyone's shackles were unfastened.

This bible passage speaks of two great men of God who wanted to do and stand for what was right. In the midst of that, the enemy rose up against them and put them inside an inner prison (dungeon), but something extraordinary happened. At midnight they prayed and sang praises and it changed everything. It changed their situation. It caused a great earthquake!
An earthquake so powerful that it shook the very foundations of the prison which caused every door to be opened and everyone’s shackles to be loosed and they were free. Today you need to know that God is going to orchestrate a prison break in your life. I know it may feel like midnight. It is dark. You feel like you are alone, and you have never been in this place in your life, but God has not forgotten about you. Don't stop your praying, your believing, or your praising. You be encouraged this morning, that God has plans to set you free. FREE INDEED.
Hold on and stay strong. You are coming out of this and when you come out you are going to bring some people out of the prison with you.

Your day has officially started!

Have a great day (The midnight hour is gone)
Be wonderfully blessed

Halloween Cards 2009!

Happy September .. And Yes i know it's not Halloween yet, But I'm trying to get my cards done early.. So that they can be in the mail on time.. Working with better Early than later or never this year!..LOL...

~Love Barbara~

Altered Spiral Albums

Covering Spiral Albums
Learn to cover a spiral album with these easy steps: Measure the distance from the album cover's left-hand edge to its holes. Use this measurement to draw a vertical line down the back of your patterned paper. Lay the paper next to the album, mark where the spirals fall along the vertical line, and punch small holes at the marks. Finally, make a horizontal cut from each hole to the edge of the paper. Spray the back of the paper with adhesive and line up the paper and spirals. Use the back of curved tweezers (they won't dent your paper) to smooth the paper between spirals. Trim any access.
~Love Barbara~

Heart-Shape Album

Heart-Shape Album- Copied and pasted from BHG website.. Just some ideas.

Brag about your loved ones with this easy-to-make album. Cut a scalloped-edge paper into four heart shapes. Cut heart-shaped pieces from cardstock and attach to the back of each scalloped-edge paper piece to make each page. Stack the finished pages, punch two holes on one side, and join them with key rings. The album is a blast to embellish and makes a great gift.

~Love Barbara~

Happy Birthday Najee!

We went to Friday's for Najee birthday and had a great time.. happy 15th Birthday Najee...

~Love Barbara~

Crafting Fun-Playing with paper

10 Simple Projects for Decorating with Paper
Try some of these quick paper ideas that add inexpensive flair to home decor.


1. Cut 4-inch squares and rectangles from several coordinating papers and arrange the pieces into a pleasing collage. When you have the final arrangement, glue everything to white acid-free matboard. You can mat and frame your design as colorful and inexpensive artwork.

2. Wrap a clear glass vase with paper bands to match the blooms. Tape or glue the ends securely. This technique will work with any square, rectangular, or tall cylindrical vase.

3. Look for papers with meaningful words or phrases. For example, cut out a greeting such as "Welcome" to hang it over an entry mirror, or use "together forever" as a title block for a photo album or scrapbook.

4. Cover acid-free matboard and use as a colorful mat for existing artwork. Or try the technique in #1, using a collage of paper patterns glued to a picture's mat.

5. Cover books in papers to give a bookcase a brand-new look. For many books, try using coordinating patterns -- florals, stripes, geometrics, and mini-prints -- and use these on various categories of books (travel, cookbooks, reference, etc.).

6. Use decorative paper to make personalized greeting cards of any size or shape. You can even use shapes of coordinating papers to decorate a blank card from the craft store.

7. Snip 3-inch-wide bands of paper and roll them into party napkin rings. Or try decoupaging or gluing decorative papers to sections of cardboard tubing (such as paper toweling tubes) to use for more durable napkin rings.

8. Trace cookie-cutter shapes onto patterned papers, cut out, punch a hole in each top, and use as holiday tree ornaments or gift tags. Or glue pretty papers to card stock, then cut out the shapes for a sturdier version of this idea.

9. Use pretty papers under glass -- as a tray insert, underneath a glass tabletop, or between two sheets of glass sold as a picture frame in art stores.

10. Slice a piece of paper for a bookmark, add a grommet at the top, and thread a ribbon through.

~Love Barbara~